I just had to share these new mugs I made.
I will post more about memes, and what they are and why I love them, but tomorrow is a BIG DAY, so I will just post the photos of the mugs, and let them speak for themselves:
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Happy Ostara Giveaway!
The Vernal Equinox is almost here- You can count the hours!
And to celebrate, I will pick a commenter at random and they win this little handbuilt bell and dish.
If you don't have a blog associated with your username, leave me your etsy shop name, your twitter name or some way to let you know that you won so I can get your address.
So, get to commenting! The contest is over at tomorrow (Sunday) midnight Central time, so comments after that are not able to win the little bell and dish.
And in your comments, why not let me know what you are doing this spring to celebrate life? Because it is good to look ahead sometimes, and see that life happens, and it is good.
Blessed Be,
Ant
Oh, and if you have a moment, visit my shop, at http://www.etsy.com/shop/antb -Thanks!
And to celebrate, I will pick a commenter at random and they win this little handbuilt bell and dish.
If you don't have a blog associated with your username, leave me your etsy shop name, your twitter name or some way to let you know that you won so I can get your address.So, get to commenting! The contest is over at tomorrow (Sunday) midnight Central time, so comments after that are not able to win the little bell and dish.
And in your comments, why not let me know what you are doing this spring to celebrate life? Because it is good to look ahead sometimes, and see that life happens, and it is good.
Blessed Be,
Ant
Oh, and if you have a moment, visit my shop, at http://www.etsy.com/shop/antb -Thanks!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Salvaged Box
I was thrift store shopping today, and found this big box. It was covered in old gold plastic stuff, and under that was some vintage fabric.
I was intrigued, and bought it.
Jensen and I tore off the plastic, and gently took off the vintage fabric, which was this scary animal print. The animals looked drugged, and the vegetables had hairs. One of the deer was wearing a saddle. Odd. 
Under the fabric were newspaper from March of 1940, and in another place 1945. There were comics and ads. (I want to scan some of the ads and images to use in my crafts. I will be posting some of the pictures here when I get them scanned). Under the newspapers was a box that had been put together from old pallets. They were marked "Winnebago MFG Co. Rockford IL Plant NO 1. " and "From Hoosier Ven CO Indianapolis IN" along with some writing in pencil and grease pen.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
For the Birds!
I got a few birdhouses out of my last kiln load, and I posted one in my Etsy shop. Here is the listing:
Spring is coming, and it is time for birdhouses!
Unfortunately, this time of year in Illinois is still snowy and awful outside- not at all conducive to photographing birdhouses.
I wanted to make my new birdhouses look really great for the shop photos, so I went to a local craft shop to hire a bird model for some good indoor shots.
Of course I made sure to have her fill out an extensive questionnaire, but I just didn’t have the time to check all her references and she looked so sweet that I just brought her home and put her right to work.
Well, not right to work. It was almost five when I got home, I had to make dinner, then go to parent/teacher conferences, then my daughter and her girlfriend stopped by, then my granddaughter needed to be rocked for a while, and then the puppy had chewed up something that Grace needed for school and we had to remake it...So I guess it was more like 2 am before we got down to the photos.
But she didn’t seem to mind the late hours. Her feathers were bright, and her plastic eyes looked sweetly into the camera. Unfortunately her legs were all wrong. I checked, and well, she didn’t actually have legs. She had a wire in a plastic plug in her bum.
To be honest, I *had* noticed that before. But I don’t mind hiring the differently-abled. I believe that everyone has the right to opportunities,so I never mentioned it at all.
She could tell this wire thing was interfering with my photos, so she offered to let me scrunch it up out of the way. That worked ok, but It made her sit listing to one side. Finally she asked me to just remove it. She said she had been wanting to get it removed for ages, but what with medical costs being what they are, and having no insurance and all, she just hadn’t been able to. (Stories like this break my heart -Don’t get me started on the state of healthcare in the US!)
Anyway, she was willing, and I was able, so I did it. I just removed that wire in one big tug. It might have hurt her, but you would never have known it from herface. Not a peep, either. And she was so much more able to be positioned. You could just tell it was a relief.
So, we got back to the photo shoot, and things were going well when her boyfriend shows up.
There had been a two-for-one deal at the craft store, and I had let her bring her boyfriend along and totally forgotten about him. Well, now he comes rolling out of the bag, and you can just tell he is trouble.
For one thing, he has this real Goth look to him.
Now, you know some Goth kids are just Emo sweeties that you want to take home and feed cookies laced with with Paxil.
But not this guy. No, there was street-tough written all over him. His eyes had that look, you know? Not to mention the huge roach clip he was carrying around.
Spring is coming, and it is time for birdhouses!Unfortunately, this time of year in Illinois is still snowy and awful outside- not at all conducive to photographing birdhouses.
I wanted to make my new birdhouses look really great for the shop photos, so I went to a local craft shop to hire a bird model for some good indoor shots.
Of course I made sure to have her fill out an extensive questionnaire, but I just didn’t have the time to check all her references and she looked so sweet that I just brought her home and put her right to work.
Well, not right to work. It was almost five when I got home, I had to make dinner, then go to parent/teacher conferences, then my daughter and her girlfriend stopped by, then my granddaughter needed to be rocked for a while, and then the puppy had chewed up something that Grace needed for school and we had to remake it...So I guess it was more like 2 am before we got down to the photos.
But she didn’t seem to mind the late hours. Her feathers were bright, and her plastic eyes looked sweetly into the camera. Unfortunately her legs were all wrong. I checked, and well, she didn’t actually have legs. She had a wire in a plastic plug in her bum.
To be honest, I *had* noticed that before. But I don’t mind hiring the differently-abled. I believe that everyone has the right to opportunities,so I never mentioned it at all.
She could tell this wire thing was interfering with my photos, so she offered to let me scrunch it up out of the way. That worked ok, but It made her sit listing to one side. Finally she asked me to just remove it. She said she had been wanting to get it removed for ages, but what with medical costs being what they are, and having no insurance and all, she just hadn’t been able to. (Stories like this break my heart -Don’t get me started on the state of healthcare in the US!)
Anyway, she was willing, and I was able, so I did it. I just removed that wire in one big tug. It might have hurt her, but you would never have known it from herface. Not a peep, either. And she was so much more able to be positioned. You could just tell it was a relief.
So, we got back to the photo shoot, and things were going well when her boyfriend shows up.
There had been a two-for-one deal at the craft store, and I had let her bring her boyfriend along and totally forgotten about him. Well, now he comes rolling out of the bag, and you can just tell he is trouble.
For one thing, he has this real Goth look to him.
Now, you know some Goth kids are just Emo sweeties that you want to take home and feed cookies laced with with Paxil.
But not this guy. No, there was street-tough written all over him. His eyes had that look, you know? Not to mention the huge roach clip he was carrying around.
Yeah, seriously a ROACH CLIP, just out there for everyone to see.
And he and my little model must have been using it while I was in the bathroom too, because the next thing you know, she is falling over, hiding and giggling, and smelling things, and acting all odd...
Well, I finished up the shoot as quickly as I could.
I had to pay her. After all, I made her wait so long to get started, and even now it is about 3 am as I am writing this. And she had that wire up her... you know... for so long, maybe the stuff was medicinal. She looked like she could have been from California or somewhere. Who knows. I am just glad the two of them left without too much trouble. They just ate a whole box of cereal, and took off.
And I think I can use some of the photos.
The birdhouse is about 6 inches long and wide (15 cm). The opening in front is about 1.75 inches wide (4.5cm). There is an opening in back for ventilation, and cleaning it out if needed after the nesters are gone.. This type of bird bottle is good for wrens, swallows and other small birds that eat lots of bugs. You mount this kind of bird bottle on a nail in a protected, shady spot like on a tree or under the eaves of your barn or garage.
Well, I finished up the shoot as quickly as I could.
I had to pay her. After all, I made her wait so long to get started, and even now it is about 3 am as I am writing this. And she had that wire up her... you know... for so long, maybe the stuff was medicinal. She looked like she could have been from California or somewhere. Who knows. I am just glad the two of them left without too much trouble. They just ate a whole box of cereal, and took off.
And I think I can use some of the photos.
The birdhouse is about 6 inches long and wide (15 cm). The opening in front is about 1.75 inches wide (4.5cm). There is an opening in back for ventilation, and cleaning it out if needed after the nesters are gone.. This type of bird bottle is good for wrens, swallows and other small birds that eat lots of bugs. You mount this kind of bird bottle on a nail in a protected, shady spot like on a tree or under the eaves of your barn or garage.
You can see the listing at my etsy shop. It is Here.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
More Kiln Pics
The kiln was finally cool, so here is a preview of the pots inside, layer by layer:
My favorites are the patens with the melted glass, and the dragon bowl. Danny's tea bowls came out beautiful, and yes, there are more skulls.
Ugh.
My favorites are the patens with the melted glass, and the dragon bowl. Danny's tea bowls came out beautiful, and yes, there are more skulls.
Ugh.
Waiting for the kiln to cool...
But, I did pop open the top just long enough to snap this photo:
So far, so good! Though, from a close up look at the photo, the bowl right in the middle has some glaze bubbles, so it is destined to be sent on to mosaic heaven, if the picture is correct. Bummer.
But the others look pretty good!
Ooooh, I can't wait!
Chair Envy
I was firing the kiln late last night (my second glaze firing - yay!) and browsing Etsy, when I came across this amazing shop, called ChairyBlossoms.
I can see this pair in my friend Sarz' apartment:
And this one would match my living room perfectly!
Anyhow, if you have fallen in chair- love, you can find these, and the others that I drooled over at ChairyBlossoms.etsy.com.
Oh, and get one for me, M'kay?
They take distressed and forlorn chairs, and make them... well... FABULOUS!
I want them!
All!
Look at this one:
I can see this pair in my friend Sarz' apartment:Anyhow, if you have fallen in chair- love, you can find these, and the others that I drooled over at ChairyBlossoms.etsy.com.
Oh, and get one for me, M'kay?
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